Being Grown Up Isn't Half as Fun as Growing Up
by Sunnydale107
Summary: This is a crossover with Newsies. It takes place in 1899 New York City. After George loses his job and has trouble paying bills, Casey, Derek, Edwin and Lizzie become newsies. They meet interesting people and have fun adventures. This is not a Dasey!
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek or Newsies because if I did I would not be writing this. I would have given myself sweet parts in them though.

* * *

Forty year old George Venturi let out an exasperated sigh as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. It was getting late and he still had a pile of bills stacked up in front of him. He had recently lost his job as a lawyer due to the closure of the law firm he worked at. The work was more for defending the little guy so he never made that much money to begin with. Now, he was in way over his head with five children to feed and no way to afford it.

Nora, George's wife sat beside him and handed him a cup of coffee. Looking at all of the bills on the table, she deeply wished she could just take them all and burn them with the oil lamp that was sitting next to them. "It's bad, isn't it, George?" She asked her husband.

"Well, it's a lot worse than I thought." George replied. "We're going to have to resort to our Plan B."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "The kids are not going to be too pleased about this. Casey will refuse to do it because she thinks it's demeaning. Edwin and Lizzie may get pushed around. And, Derek, well, he's so lazy."

"Nora, we have no choice." He took his wife's hands in his. "The only way we are going to be able to feed these kids is if they make the money themselves."

"When do you want them to start?" Nora asked.

"They need to start right away." George replied. "Tomorrow is as good a day as any."

With a sigh, Nora stood up. "Let's go break the news to them."

George followed in her lead. They each took a seat in their living area. The five children were all sitting around playing games except for the eldest daughter Casey who was reading a book. "Kids, we have to tell you something." George piped up.

"What is it, dad?" Edwin, the youngest boy asked.

"We're having trouble paying the bills." The father described. "And, you kids are going to have to go to work and sell newspapers."

"What?" Casey shot a death look at her step-father. "I refuse to be forced into child labor. And, I will not let you force Edwin, Lizzie and Marti into child labor either." She flipped one of her brown braids behind her shoulder.

"What about me?" Derek, the eldest boy asked. "I am not going to go out there and sweat my rear off selling newspapers. What will the neighborhood girls think of me?"

"There is no debating this." Nora explained.

"I don't wanna sell newspapers!" Marti, the youngest of the girls cried.

"You don't have to." George told her. "It is way too dangerous out there for you. But, Derek and Casey are both sixteen and old enough to hold their own on the streets. Lizzie and Edwin need to stay together or with Derek or Casey."

"Do we really get no say in this?" Lizzie asked.

"This is only until George finds another job and we can afford the bills." Nora told her daughter.

"But…" Derek began.

"Derek, you have to do this." George told him. "Plus, girls sell newspapers now, too."

With a look of defeat, the four eldest Venturi/McDonald children groaned. They knew they had no say in this matter. Tomorrow, they would become newsies.


	2. Distracted by Girls

The next morning, the four children were woken up early. After, washing up (Casey and Derek fought over who got to wash up first) and getting dressed, they groggily ate their breakfast. Finishing with breakfast, they left their little apartment for Newsies Square.

Waking up in the lap of the Horace Greeley statue in Newsies Square, fifteen year old Pyro O'Shea rubbed her eyes and looked around. "This isn't Brooklyn." She yawned as she tucked her shoulder-length red hair under her cap. Straightening up, she looked down and saw two pairs of familiar eyes staring at her.

"Spot kick you out again?" The owner of the male eyes asked. It was Jack Kelly. He was the leader of the Manhattan newsies.

"No." Pyro yawned as she climbed down from the statue. "He had one of his floozies over last night." She tucked her black shirt into her black pants and felt her pocket to make sure she still had some matches there.

Acorn, the owner of the female eyes shook her head. "You need to either get over him or tell him how you feel about him."

"He knows how I feel about him." Pyro strolled over to the gates. "I can't stand him. He's arrogant, cocky, rude and just plain mean sometimes."

Both Acorn and Jack shook their heads. They knew Pyro better than that.

As the newsies started to line up to get their newspapers, four new faces joined the crowd. No one really noticed at first. However, Derek Venturi was very distracted by all of the girls. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a group of girls standing around with their newspapers tucked under their arms. They must have been chatting about something.

The first girl to catch his eye was Sweets. Her blue-green eyes caught his attention. "Hold my place in line." He told Edwin as he wandered over to the girls. "Hello ladies." A smirk spread across his face as he reached the group of girls.

Sweets was in the process of tucking her brown hair under her cap. "Hi." She looked up at his brown eyes. He was very handsome.

"I'm Derek." He extended his hand to her.

The thought of doing a spit shake crossed her mind but he was new. She figured he wouldn't get it. "Sweets." She shook his hand. "And, this is Moonlight, Acorn, and Echo." She pointed at her friends.

"Please to meet you all." Derek grinned from ear to ear and shook each of their hands.

"Looks like we may have another Spot Conlon on our hands." Echo giggled as she shook his hand.

"Who said something about Spot?" Came the voice of Pallet as she strolled over to the group.

"Echo was just saying how this new boy is a bit like Spot." Moonlight explained.

"If I had known that newsie girls were so beautiful, I would have become a newsie a long time ago." Derek smirked.

"Derek!" Edwin called to his brother. "We're up next to get our papers!"

"It was nice meeting all of you." Derek nodded as he took each one of their hands and kissed them. "If any of you would ever like to spend time with me, then I should be here every morning." And, with that he strolled over to his brother and step-sisters.

"He's pretty good looking." Acorn nodded.

"Yeah, but we all have boyfriends." Echo pointed out. "Except for you, Pallet."

"He's cute but I don't know." Pallet shrugged.

The girls all giggled as their respective boyfriends approached. Acorn was joined by Jack, Sweets by Racetrack, Moonlight by Bumlets, and Echo by Skittery. "What are you girls giggling about?" Racetrack asked.

"Oh, nothing." Sweets smiled as she watched Derek. All of the girls seemed to be mesmerized by him. With that, they all headed off to their favorite selling spots.

"Derek, what were you doing?" Casey spat as Derek returned to their group.

"Flirting with those gorgeous girls." Edwin answered for his brother.

Casey and Lizzie rolled their eyes. Once they got their newspapers, they decided to split up and cover more ground. Lizzie and Edwin would stay together and Casey and Derek would go their separate ways. They just did not work well together.


	3. Derek Learns From The Best

Derek took his papers and headed off down the street. He started reading the headlines of the paper and yelled them out loud. Just as he turned the corner, someone ran right into him and knocked the papers out of his hands. They flew all over the ground. "Watch where you're going, chump." He muttered as looked down into a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Who are you calling chump?" The brown eyed person asked.

"You." Derek bent down to pick up his newspapers. "And, if you were like any other guy, you would be wise not to pick a fight with me."

"I'm not like any other guy." The other newsie pulled off the gray hat and let shoulder length, red hair fall. "Because, I'm a girl."

Looking up, Derek's eyes widened. She was a girl, a very pretty girl. Straightening up, he said, "I'm Derek Venturi." He extended his hand to her.

Pyro was not like the other girls. Being a Brooklyn girl and spending most of her time by Spot Conlon's side, she developed an indifferent attitude about what people thought of her. Spitting in her hand, she shook his. "Pyro O'Shea."

Derek made a face as he shook her hand. This was not usually how he swapped spit with girls. "You're a newsie?" He wiped his hand on his pants.

"What's it to you?" The girl pulled some matches out of her pocket and a cigarette that she had just stolen from Oscar Delancey. Lighting the cigarette, she took a drag.

"Well, if you couldn't tell, I'm new at this." Derek watched her every move. "And, I was wondering if maybe you could help me out. You don't have any newspapers. Did you sell them already?"

"First thing's first, they're called papes." She pointed out. "If you're going to be a newsie, you should get used to the terminology. Second thing, I'm from Brooklyn, I can get kids to sell my papes for me and give me 100 percent of the profit. But, yes, I did sell them all already." She shrugged.

"How did you manage that?" The boy wondered.

"I'm fifteen but I can pass for twelve." She pulled her tucked in shirt out of her pants and unbuttoned it. It was rather oversized. Taking the shirt off, she revealed that she had a white undershirt underneath. It accentuated the fact that she had curves. "Younger sells more papes. Also, you were reading those headlines. They're not very interesting. Can you lie? Of course you can. You're a hormonal teenage boy. Make up some interesting headlines of your own. Slap on a good fake cough and you're golden." Tying the shirt around her waist, she pushed her way past him.

As he watched her walk away, he noticed that she had two slingshots tucked into the back of her pants. He stared for a few moments before following her. "Why do you have two slingshots?"

"Look, you're new so I'll be easy on you." She eyed him. "I don't like questions. The reason why I have two slingshots is because I stole one. I'm a bit of a vengeful person. Someone pissed me off and I stole his slingshot. The other one is mine. Now if you don't mind, I'm going home."

"Could you demonstrate your selling ability to me?" Derek asked.

"Not here." Pyro took another drag from her cigarette. "I made a deal with Jack that I would only sell so many papes in Manhattan. Plus, if you want to learn how to do things the proper way, you have to come to Brooklyn. I have free reign there. Would you be willing to put your neck on the line and travel to Brooklyn?"

"If it means I get to spend time with a girl as beautiful as you then yes." He smirked.

"Charm doesn't work on me." She lied. Charm always worked with her. That's how Spot got her to do most of the things she did for him. And, this new kid was making her forget about Spot for once. Because even though she found him irritating with his questions, she found him very attractive. "Let's go to Brooklyn. But, you do not talk to any of the Brooklyn newsies unless they speak to you. I need to get out of here before Oscar realizes I stole one of his smokes anyway."

Together, Pyro and Derek walked to Brooklyn. It felt like a longer walk than it really was for Derek. Pyro did this same walk every time she and Spot got into a fight or every time Spot had a girl stay the night. The entire time, Derek bombarded her with questions and threw out compliments left and right.

Pyro was still seeking revenge on Spot so she decided the perfect place to teach Derek the odds and ends about being a newsie would be near his favorite selling area. Derek noticed the fear and respect in the eyes of the newsies they passed. "So, why do all these guys look at you like you're someone to be afraid of?"

"Because I am." Pyro took a paper from him. "I'm the only one brave enough to stand up to Conlon when he's being a tyrant. And, I'm the one that taught most of those bums how to read." She looked at the paper. Noticing a headline about a trash fire near City Hall she grinned. Pointing to the paper, she said, "I started that fire." He looked at her. "Headless body found in Central Park!" She shouted and waved the paper around.

Within minutes, the pair was surrounded by a flock of customers. Before they knew it, they had sold all thirty of Derek's newspapers. "You're amazing." He looked at Pyro with a look she knew all too well. It was the same look Spot gave every single girl he had spend the night with him.

Before Pyro could get a word in to tell him to stop looking at her, a cold voice said something from behind her. "First, you steal my slingshot." A hand reached over to the back of her pants and yanked out one of the slingshots. "And, then you steal my customers."

Turning around, Pyro stared into the icy blue eyes of Spot Conlon.


	4. Who Has Feelings For Who?

A/N: I know this chapter isn't very long. I'll try to make the rest of them longer. I promise!

* * *

Stepping next to Pyro, Derek sized Spot up. He figured if he had to, he could fight this guy. Standing at about 5 foot 11, Derek had a few inches on Spot. "I thought you said you had free reign in Brooklyn." He whispered.

"Who are you?" Spot glared at Derek. "And, what are you doing with Pyro? And, free reign in Brooklyn?" He directed his glare to Pyro.

"Yeah, reign as in I can go wherever I want. Not rain like the water that falls from the sky." Pyro retorted. "I know how sometimes you have no idea what I'm saying because I'm just a bit smarter than you."

"You do not have free reign on my selling spot." Spot took a step closer to her, making a fist. "Especially if you're bringing random guys around."

Derek put a hand up to stop Spot. "You know guys shouldn't hit girls, right? Lay a finger on her and I will have to lay a fist on you."

Pyro looked from Derek to Spot and back again. For the first time ever, she saw someone other than herself stand up to Spot Conlon and she was impressed. Pushing Derek's hand down, she said, "Don't worry. Conlon knows that if he hits me, it'll only make things worse for him." She put on her sweet, innocent smile. "He can never stay mad at me anyway."

Spot groaned and threw his hands up in defeat. There was something about the way she smiled that made him forgive her. It was the most out of character thing for him. But, Pyro knew how to get her way with everyone. That's why she was his right hand girl to begin with. "We'll talk about this later." He turned and walked away. Inside he was cursing himself for letting her get to him again.

"Who was that guy?" Derek looked to the girl next to him. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Pyro shook her head with a laugh. "Hardly. That's Spot Conlon. He's the leader of the Brooklyn newsies. Our relationship is… complicated at best. I don't think he's ever had a steady girlfriend."

"Oh." Derek nodded. "Wait, he's the guy that people are afraid of?"

"Yeah." She looked into his brown eyes. "That was great how you stood up to him. So, you going to buy me lunch?"

"I could never turn down a pretty, smart and confident girl such as you." He took her hand. "Where would you like to go?"

Pyro felt her heart skip a beat when he took her hand. The only other person that ever made her feel like that was Spot and she would never even admit to that. She felt her cheeks go warm and she knew she was blushing. "Tibby's. Manhattan. Hope you don't mind walking back over the Brooklyn Bridge."

"Well, I have to go back that way to get home anyway." Derek replied as they started up the street. "And, we can take the time to get to know each other better."

She smiled. "That means I get to do some of the questioning." He nodded and they were off to Manhattan, hand in hand.


	5. It Ain't Easy Being a Newsie

Casey McDonald let out a frustrated sigh. It was near lunchtime and she had only sold five newspapers. Taking a deep breath, she called out the first headline on the newspaper but no one was approaching her. She had noticed that other newsies were already finished selling their papers. It took everything inside of her not to start freaking out. Casey McDonald did not fail so why was she failing terribly at this? "I'm never going to be able to help the family out like this." She said to herself as she leaned against the wall of the brick building behind her.

"Need some help?" Someone asked as he approached her.

"What?" She looked up at a boy her age with curly hair.

"You look like you could use some help with selling those papes." The boy pointed out.

"I'm just not good at it." She shook her head. "I've never failed at anything before."

"Well, with a few tips, I think you could do just fine." He smiled. "My name is David Jacobs but you can call me Davey." He extended his hand to her.

"My name is Casey McDonald." She took his hand and shook it. A closer look at this boy and she found him very attractive. "But, I don't have anything to give you in return."

"How about you just let me help you out and then we can go grab some lunch together." Davey looked into her blue eyes.

Casey thought for a moment and then answered him. "Sounds good to me."

Davey took the rest of the afternoon to show Casey the most honest way to sell newspapers and actually sell them. To both of their satisfaction, neither liked to lie. Making up headlines was not something these two did. After finishing up with the papers, Davey escorted Casey to Tibby's.

* * *

Edwin Venturi and Lizzie McDonald huddled to one another in an alley. They had just finished selling their newspapers and were now being cornered by Oscar and Morris Delancey. Apparently, they wanted all of the money the two thirteen year olds had just made. Edwin closed his eyes and silently wished his big brother; Derek would come to the rescue. Even though Derek had bullied him a lot at home, he was never this scary. Lizzie let out a whimper.

"Excuse me, Oscar, Morris, I think I just saw the bulls running this way." The voice of a young girl rang out behind the two bullies. "They were saying something about two teenagers bullying two smaller kids."

With a look at one another, the Delancey brothers ran out of the alley to find safety with their Uncle Weasel.

Edwin and Lizzie looked up from their cowering states to see a pretty girl with blue eyes and golden blonde hair standing in the place of the menacing bullies. Immediately Edwin was awestruck. He found her beautiful. "Thank you so much for helping us out. I never thought they'd leave." He smiled at the girl.

She giggled. "You guys have to be careful around them. They try to pick on us younger kids because they think we're easier targets. And, that's true with some of the kids."

"We learned that the hard way." Lizzie nodded. Edwin just stared at her. "I'm Lizzie McDonald and this is my step-brother, Edwin."

"My name's Blush." The other girl replied. "If you guys ever need any help then let me know. My older cousin's a newsie and she knows practically everyone."

"Very nice to meet you." Edwin beamed.

"You know, since you two are new, you may want to group up with me for a little while until you get used to things out here." Blush pointed out. "If we group together then the Delanceys are less likely to pick on us."

"That sounds like a good idea." Lizzie nodded.

"You're brilliant." Edwin said excitedly. "So, are you doing anything this afternoon?"

"No, you guys wanna go for a swim or something?" Blush asked.

"Yeah, it's really hot out here." Edwin replied.

"Well, then, let's go." Blush led them to her favorite swimming spot and they spent the rest of the day swimming.


	6. Confusion

Pyro had spent the entire day with Derek. They laughed, talked, even flirted a little. Ok, so Derek flirted a lot. For the first time in her life, she felt like a girl. Spot would never give her that kind of attention. Even though she had just met Derek, she felt a real connection with him.

It was dark when they finally reached the place Derek called home. "So, you wanna hang out again tomorrow?" He asked as they stood on the fire escape outside his bedroom window.

"Sure." Pyro replied. "But, I have to sell in Brooklyn so I'll see you after lunch. You think you can handle selling papes on your own?" She teased.

"I learned from the best." Derek grinned. "I'm pretty sure I can handle it. And, don't let that Spot character bully you around."

She laughed. "I'm usually the one that does the bullying. Speaking of Spot, I should probably go before he sends some of the guys out to look for me. But, I'll meet you in Newsies Square tomorrow afternoon."

"See you tomorrow." Placing his hands on her shoulders, he leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Then, he climbed into his window.

Pyro put her hand to her cheek as she descended the fire escape. Did a guy really just kiss her on the cheek? He was a really good looking guy too.

The entire walk back to Brooklyn, Pyro smiled. Smiling was not something she did very much. Usually she only did it when she wanted something or when she was secretly daydreaming about Spot. As she approached the docks, she noticed Spot sitting on his crates and staring into the water.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she sighed and casually strolled down to Spot's end of the docks. Standing next to him, she lit a cigarette and took a drag. Blowing some smoke in his face, she asked, "Any activity going on in that brain?"

"Where have you been all day?" Spot snapped. "And, last night? Where were you?"

"Manhattan." Pyro shrugged like it was nothing.

"With that guy?" His blue eyes fixated on her brown eyes.

"Not last night." She shook her head. "But, yeah, today we spent some time together. And, he has a name. It's Derek."

"Stay away from him." He instructed. "I heard he was flirting with some of the Manhattan girls. Sweets, Acorn, Moonlight and Echo. They all have boyfriends. He's bad news."

"Sounds kind of like someone else I know." She put the cigarette to her lips. "Now, who could that be?" She took a drag. "Oh, yeah, you. And, he was probably just being friendly."

"I saw the way he looked at you today." Spot glared. "It's the same look I use when I just want to get a girl in bed with me."

"Gee thanks a lot, Conlon." Pyro took her cap off and wiped her forehead. "What do you care anyway? You've never took notice of guys that notice me before."

Jumping down from the crates, Spot got face to face with her. "Despite what you may think, I do actually care about what happens to you."

"Yeah, only because it affects my mood and when I'm miserable, it just makes your life harder." She spat. "It's not because you really care for my wellbeing. It's because you care about your own damn selfish needs." She turned around, dropping the cigarette on the ground and stomping on it.

"No, Hope, you're wrong there." He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him.

"Did you just call me by my real name?" She glared at him. "I told you never to call me that. And, I'm right because when it comes to you, I know you better than you know yourself."

"You think you know me." Spot took her hand. "But, you can't read my mind." That's when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. After a few minutes, they pulled apart and he walked away.

Pyro just stood there. Watching him walk away, her mind was racing. The one thing she wanted to happen for so long had just happened. But, there was a problem. Pyro O'Shea was falling for Derek Venturi. However, she had wanted to be with Spot Conlon for as long as she could remember. She sighed as she sat down on the docks and stared into the water. Confusion swept through her mind. Now, she didn't know what she wanted.


	7. Boys Will Be Boys

Derek pulled his money out of his pocket as he went into the kitchen. He saw his father sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. "Here Dad." He placed the money on the table and turned to go back into his room.

"Derek, did you sell all of your newspapers?" George asked.

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Thirty?" Derek nodded. "Where's the rest of the money?"

"I had to eat."

"There should still be more money here."

"He bought lunch for a girl." Casey said as she came into the room.

"Derek, you know money is tight here." George pointed out. "Try to keep your hormones in check."

"Casey, why don't you tell them about the random guy you were with today?" Derek rolled his eyes as he went into the living area to sit with Edwin.

"He's a nice guy." Casey spat. "And, his name is Davey." She said dreamily. She placed her money on the table and went to her room.

"Derek, I met the most gorgeous girl today." Edwin told his big brother.

"That's nice, Ed." Derek sat in his favorite chair. "I met a bunch of gorgeous girls today. I think I'm going to like this new job." He reclined the chair and smiled.

"Smerek! I missed you!" Marti came running into the room.

"Well, come sit on my lap and I can tell you a story." He waved for his little sister to join him in the chair.

"Is it about a princess?" Marti asked as she climbed into her big brother's lap.

"If that's what you want, Smarti." He nodded.

"Ok!"

Derek went on to tell his sister about a beautiful princess. Before he had even finished the story, she was asleep in his lap. Scooping her up, he took her to her room and placed her in bed. Eventually, everyone else went to bed as well. Derek dreamed of all the beautiful newsgirls. Casey dreamed of Davey. Edwin dreamed of Blush.

* * *

Pyro woke up on the docks. "I have to stop falling asleep just anywhere." She rubbed her eyes and stood up. It was still early. Putting her cap on, she walked towards the Brooklyn Lodging House to get some fresh clothes and wash up.

Climbing up the stairs to the bunk room, she remembered what had happened the night before. She was kissed by two different guys. Sure, one only kissed her on the cheek but she had just met him. And, the other guy was Spot. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of two voices coming from the bunk room. One belonged to Blade, a tall, not so smart guy and the other belonged to Spot. She pressed her ear to the door and listened.

"So you kissed her?" Blade asked.

"Yeah but it was only to make her listen to me." Spot replied. "I only wanted her to believe what I was saying and that was the best way to get the point across."

"You don't have feelings for her?" The other guy asked.

"Not like that." He shrugged.

"You are such a playboy, Conlon." Blade shook his head.

Pyro felt her heart sink at that moment but then she realized that her decision was made a whole lot easier. If this had happened before she met Derek, she probably would have marched in there and slugged Spot right in the face. Instead, she quietly opened the door and snuck past the other newsies to her bed. Grabbing some clean clothes and a bar of soap, she headed for the washroom.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Pyro decided that she did not feel like selling papes. Instead, she was going to surprise Derek by meeting him early. As she stepped out of the washroom, she was face to face with Spot. "I didn't know you were here." He said.

"Well, now you do, Conlon." She pushed her way past him. "But, I'm going to be heading over to Manhattan now to meet up with my new friend, Derek."

"So, you're still going to hang out with him even after what happened last night?" Spot questioned.

"What can I say, I'm just stubborn." Pyro left the room.

"Yeah, well, don't come crying to me when he hurts you!" Spot called after her.

As Pyro reached Manhattan, she smiled to herself. The thought of spending another day with Derek made her happy. Her mind was made up, Spot Conlon was a jerk and there was no getting around that. Derek was handsome, sweet, funny, and smart and he had nice hands. Pyro had a thing for guys with nice hands.

Strolling up to the gates, Pyro noticed Derek was there already. And, he was talking to Sweets. She watched them. She figured he was just being friendly or trying to get a few selling tips since she had helped him yesterday. Then, her heart sank for the second time in one day. In horror, she watched as Derek took Sweets hand and they walked off together.

All of the newsies started to clear out to go sell their newspapers. Pyro sunk down on the curb and lit a cigarette. On the inside, she was cursing herself for even thinking that two guys would be interested in her. Derek and Spot were just as bad as one another. And, Spot was right about Derek. She was well aware of Spot's reputation but she thought Derek was genuine. Putting her head in her hands, she took a long drag from the cigarette.

"I believe you owe me one of those." Someone said from beside her. "You did steal one of mine yesterday."

Looking up, Pyro stared at the face of Oscar Delancey. "Yeah, whatever you say." She took a cigarette out of her pocket and handed it to him.

Oscar gave her a look. This was not the Pyro that he and everyone else knew.


	8. Somebody Save Me

"No insults? No fighting?" He sat down next to her and put a hand to her forehead. "Are you ok, O'Shea? Not that I care or anything."

"Don't touch me, Delancey." She swatted his hand away. "I'm having a bad enough day already."

"Did you have another fight with Spotty?" Oscar took her cigarette and used it to light his own.

Grabbing her cigarette back from him, Pyro glared at him. "I'm not going to share my problems with you. I can't stand you." Then a thought occurred to her. Being a bit on the vindictive side, she came up with a pretty good plan to get back at Spot. Considering he didn't like it when he saw her with Derek, she knew he would probably flip even more if he saw her hanging out with Oscar Delancey. "You feel like getting under Conlon's skin?" She tilted her head to the side.

"Depends on what's in it for me." Oscar replied.

"The satisfaction of pissing off Conlon." She smiled. "And, you get to spend some quality with me."

"That's not on my list of top priorities." He pointed out. "I have a reputation to uphold. I can't be seen with one of the newsies. Especially the one who steals my cigarettes every day."

"Not every day." Pyro shook her head. "All I'm asking is you just hang out with me so that Conlon sees. He'll get really mad and then I'll be happy to have my revenge on him for what he did to me. Then, you can go do whatever you like."

"What did he do to you anyway?" Oscar took a drag from his cigarette.

"That's my business." Pyro spat.

"I'm not going to help you out unless you tell me what he did."

"He got all mad at me for hanging out with the new kid." She shrugged. "Then, he told me he cares if that guy hurts me or not. To get his point across he kissed me. I heard him this morning telling Blade that he only kissed me to make me believe him. He has no feelings for me."

"So, do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?" He grinned.

She made a face. "No! That's just wrong. Look, you in or you out?"

"I'm in." Oscar stood up and held his hand out for her to take it.

Pyro stood up as well, ignoring his hand. "Conlon's predictable when it comes to me. He'll probably be on his way to Tibby's to give me an ear full. Let's head that way." They started up the street together.

Pyro and Oscar walked in silence. Walking by an alley, they heard a scuffle. Looking down the alley, they saw Morris picking on three younger kids. Oscar laughed. "I'm going to go help my brother. Want to join me?"

"No! You're both ridiculous!" Taking out her slingshot, Pyro aimed it at Morris's arm. She hit him perfectly. Then, she sprinted into the alley and took a stance between Morris and the kids. She noticed that one of them was Blush but she didn't recognize the other two.

Oscar reached his brother's side. "Guess our little date is over, O'Shea."

"I would never date someone as repulsing as you." The red head spat as she pulled out her book of matches. "Now you two punks can either leave these kids alone or I will have to do some fire starting."

"You always were so stupidly brave." Morris laughed as he pulled out his brass knuckles. "Move or I'll use these on you."

Pyro looked back at Blush and the other two kids. "Run." She whispered. "I'll be alright."

Without hesitation, Blush grabbed Edwin and Lizzie and they ran out of the alley. "You think you can take on the two of us by yourself?" Oscar glared.

Lighting a match, Pyro shrugged. "I know I can. So, who wants to go first?"

"I will." Morris stepped closer to her and swung at her face with the brass knuckles.

The skin on Pyro's right cheek split open and blood poured out. That didn't stop her from forcefully shoving her knee up into Morris's groin. Yelping in pain, he jumped back. Oscar took the initiative to finish what his brother had started. Grabbing the petite newsgirl by the wrists, he shoved her into the brick wall with all of his might. There were definitely going to be bruises all over her back when this ended. "You should know better than to mess with us, O'Shea." Oscar gritted his teeth as he punched her in the mouth, splitting her lip. That's when he pulled a knife out of his pocket and Morris recovered from his groin injury the best he could. Oscar dragged the knife along the length of Pyro's forearm. Then, Morris punched her again with the brass knuckles.

Pyro closed her eyes. She was starting to get dizzy now. As much as she wanted to fight back, she was getting weak. There was no way a five foot tall newsgirl could take on the force that was both of the Delanceys. If it were just one of them then she would have been victorious. Fighting the black out that was sure to come from all the punching and kicking and possibly stabbing, Pyro did not see nor hear someone else in the alley. She just kept her eyes closed and sunk to the ground, bracing herself for the pain that was about to come.

Morris and Oscar were surprised when they saw they had company. That didn't stop them from trying to fight off this visitor. However, he was strong and after throwing a few punches that were sure to leave marks on the Delanceys, they ran off. This guy was not smaller than them and they usually picked on people smaller than them.

Pyro had blacked out during the scuffle between the Delanceys and the other guy. When she opened her eyes, she was sitting with her back against the brick wall. Someone leaned down to her level and looked at her. After her vision stopped swirling, she was able to make out a face. Wiping the blood from her mouth, she realized that she was looking into the chocolate brown eyes of Derek Venturi. "Are you ok?" He pushed her hair out of her face to examine the cuts she had sustained.

"Derek?" She whispered. "How did you know?" She tried to stand up but was still too weak to do so.

"I'll explain later. I don't think you should be walking." He scooped her up into his arms. "I'm going to take you to my place. My step-mother should be able to fix you up a bit."

"You saved me." Pyro whispered as she rested her head on his chest.

Derek walked out of the alley with a bloodied and bruised Pyro in his arms. "Come on, guys." He said to the three kids waiting for him at the end of the alley. Edwin, Lizzie and Blush followed him.


	9. An Arrangement

Nora was making a sandwich for Marti to have for lunch. Just as she got the little girl calmed down and in a chair, Derek, Edwin, Lizzie and a girl she did not know burst into the kitchen. Derek had another girl she did not know in his arms. This other girl looked beaten up and in bad shape. Dropping the sandwich onto Marti's plate, Nora ran over to Derek and the girl. "Derek, what happened?"

"She saved us from these bullies." Lizzie explained.

"Derek, get her to the couch." Nora told her step-son. "I'll get some warm water and soap to clean her up." She rushed around the room.

Derek took the girl into the other room. "Ed, pillows." Doing as he was told, Edwin put some pillows down for Pyro. Gently; Derek set her down on the couch. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone just beat the sh…" Pyro began but stopped when she realized that there were younger kids around. "I'm in some pain here."

"What's going on, Smerek?" Marti ran into the room with her sandwich in her hand.

"Some guys hurt her." Edwin told his little sister.

"I'm sorry." Marti pouted as she examined Pyro. "Usually when I get hurt, Smerek kisses it better. Do you want me to kiss it better?"

"Marti, why don't you come over here and eat your sandwich?" Lizzie gently grabbed her step-sister by the arm and they sat in a chair on the other side of the room.

Pyro looked at the cut on her arm. "Hey, Blush? I kinda need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, anything." Blush nodded.

"I need you to go find Cowboy." Pyro said. "Tell him the Delanceys got me but I'm ok. Don't tell him where I am because he'll tell Spot. The last thing I need right now is to deal with Spot. Oh, and don't go alone because those crazy Delanceys are still out there."

"I'll go with you." Edwin piped up.

Blush looked at her. "I'll do that but he might insist on knowing where you are."

"Just tell him that I'm with friends and they're taking care of me." Pyro instructed.

Nora came in the room with a bucket of warm, soapy water and a washcloth. As she knelt beside Pyro, Edwin and Blush ran out to go find Jack. "Where are they going?" She wondered out loud.

"To find my friends and let them know what happened." Pyro replied softly.

Nora dipped the washcloth in the water and then wrung it out. As she was about to apply it to the cuts on Pyro's face, Derek took the washcloth from her. "Nora, can I do it?"

Lizzie, Marti and Nora all looked at Derek in surprise. It was unusual that Derek often took initiative in things like this. With a nod, Nora said, "Sure, but be very gentle." Standing up, she ushered Marti and Lizzie into the kitchen. "Lizzie, why don't you go with Marti to the candy store around the corner and pick out some treats." She placed some money in her daughter's hand.

"You're going to have a grown-up conversation, aren't you?" Lizzie asked as she and Marti headed out the door.

Nora just nodded and smiled. Walking back into the other room, she smiled as she watched her eldest, most irresponsible step-son, gently wiping the blood from his friend's wounds. Maybe, he was maturing after all. This new job could be good for him. Taking a seat on the small coffee table across from the couch, she looked at the two teenagers. "We haven't formally been introduced." She said to the girl whom she realized was very pretty under all of that blood and dirt. "I'm Nora McDonald, Derek's step-mother."

Wincing in pain, Pyro replied, "I'm Pyro O'Shea. And, I have you say that it's really nice of you to do this for me."

"Derek, be gentle." Nora told her step-son. "I hope you don't mind me asking but Pyro isn't your real name, is it?"

Shaking her head, the newsgirl replied, "Nah, my real name is Hope."

"That's a very pretty name." Nora smiled.

Derek nodded as he started to clean the cut on Pyro's arm. "Very pretty name for a very pretty girl. You look different than all the other girls."

"That's because I'm half Irish and half Portuguese." The girl explained. "The red hair and last name are the Irish half. The brown eyes and tanned skin are the Portuguese half. And, both are known for having a temper."

"So, what happened exactly?" Nora asked.

Taking a deep breath, Pyro explained what had happened up until she blacked out. "I don't remember passing out but I did. When I opened my eyes, Derek was there."

"Derek, did you fight those boy?" His step-mother asked him.

"I had to, Nora." He replied. "They were going to kill Pyro."

She sighed and looked at Pyro. "Are there any cuts or bruises anywhere else on your body?"

"Oscar shoved me against a brick wall." The girl nodded. "My back is in some serious pain."

"Derek, can you help her stand up?" Nora asked. "I'm going to have to look at your back to see how bad it is."

"Of course." Derek put an arm around Pyro's shoulders and helped her up.

Lifting up the back of the newsgirl's shirt, Nora let out a gasp. "Your back is badly bruised. We have to go to the police about those terrible boys."

"The bulls won't do anything." Pyro told her as Nora put her shirt back down. Slowly, she sat on the couch. "The last guy who went to the bulls about the Delanceys ended up in worse shape than I am."

Derek sat next to her. "Nora, those guys get away with whatever they want."

"Well, I can't let you go back out on the streets in the condition you're in." Nora told Pyro. "You can stay here until you're all healed."

"I have a place to stay." Pyro responded. "It's in Brooklyn."

"I don't think you should go to Brooklyn." Derek told her. "I don't like that Spot Conlon guy."

"I'm going to talk to George when he gets home." Nora stood up. "And, I'm sure we can make room for you here."

"But, you have four kids of your own to take care of." Pyro sighed. "I don't want to be a burden."

"Actually, it's five." Nora pointed out. "You probably haven't met Casey. But, I am not letting you be put back on the streets in this condition."

"You're lucky you haven't met Casey, yet." Derek whispered.

Pyro let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll stay here. But, someone has to go to Brooklyn and get my stuff for me." She looked at Derek. "I am not leaving my personal journal there for Conlon to read or have someone read to him."

"I know the way there but I don't think I'll be wanted there." The boy pointed out. "And, I don't know what belongs to you."

At that moment, the door opened and Casey came into the apartment with Davey. Nora went into the kitchen to see who it was. "Casey, hi. And, who is this?"

"Mom, this is my friend, Davey." Casey explained.

"Nice to meet you." Davey smiled and took Nora's hand, shaking it.

"You too." Nora returned the handshake. "I'm Nora, Casey's mother."

Peeking past her mother, Casey saw Derek sitting on the couch with a very beaten up girl. "What happened?" She asked, pointing to the pair.

"Derek's friend got beat up pretty bad." Nora replied.

Davey noticed the pair as well. The girl looked familiar. "Pyro?" He went into the other room. "Who did this to you?"

"Who do you think, Jacobs?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Delancey's?" He asked. Pyro nodded.

"Who are you?" Derek asked as Casey came into the room.

"Derek, you are so rude." Casey spat. "This is my friend Davey. Davey, this is my obnoxious step-brother." The two boys nodded at each other.

Pyro looked at Casey. "So, you're the step-sister?"

"Are you ok?" Casey knelt down to look at the other girl's cuts and bruises.

She nodded. "Yep, I'll live. Oh, and I'm Pyro O'Shea."

"Casey McDonald." The other girl nodded.

Looking at Davey and Derek, a thought crossed Pyro's mind. "Davey, I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, what is it?" He asked.

"I need you to go with Derek to Brooklyn and get my stuff." Pyro explained. "I'm going to be staying here until I'm healed. You can't tell Spot where I am though. So, just let Derek do all the talking. I know you have trouble with lying."

"When do you want us to go?" Davey inquired.

"Now would be a good time." She replied. "Spot's probably in Manhattan looking for me anyway." She put a hand on Derek's back and pushed him to move.

"Ok, I'm going." Derek got up and sighed. "Casey, don't tell her anything bad about me because you know that's just not true."

Casey rolled her eyes as she took Derek's seat on the couch. Uncomfortably, Derek and Davey left for Brooklyn. Nora was in the kitchen cleaning up after Marti's mess. Casey looked at Pyro who seemed preoccupied with her thoughts. The two girls just sat on the couch in an awkward silence.


	10. A Confrontation

Derek Venturi and David Jacobs made a very awkward duo. They were complete opposites. David reminded Derek too much of Casey and he just did not like his step-sister. In a way, Derek reminded David of Spot Conlon. He figured that was why Pyro gravitated towards him.

"So…" Davey began as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Do you know much about Pyro?" Derek asked.

"I don't know." The other boy shrugged. "People talk about her a lot. It's hard to tell what's true and what's just made up."

"What about her relationship with Spot Conlon?" Derek questioned.

"I do know that she has always been attracted to him." Davey explained. "But, Spot is a bit of a skirt chaser. Pyro's not like the other girls. She's a lot braver. Actually, she's braver than most guys. She's the only one who has ever stood up to Spot."

"Yeah, I got that part." Derek nodded. "I think that's part of why she's so beautiful."

"You like her as more than a friend?" The curly haired boy looked at him.

"I just met her yesterday. But, I wouldn't mind getting to know her better, if you know what I mean." Derek winked.

"You just better watch out for Spot." Davey explained. "He seems to think that since Pyro lives on his turf that she's off limits to everyone but him. Even though, he does not think of her as anything more than a friend. Sometimes I wonder if they're even really friends."

As they stood in front of the Brooklyn lodging house, Derek let out a sigh. "I don't like Spot Conlon. He's a jerk to her."

"I don't like you either." Spot's cold voice rang out from behind the pair.

David and Derek turned around to see the other guy staring at them. Pyro had said he would be looking for her in Manhattan. Pyro was usually right about Spot. However, this time, she was wrong. "Spot, we're not here for trouble." David said calmly. "We just came to get some of Pyro's stuff."

"And, why would you be doing that?" Spot narrowed his eyes at Derek. "Is she moving out? Where is she?"

Davey was about to say something but Derek stopped him. "She's with friends. She was beat up by some guys. The Delancey brothers, I think. Someone is taking care of her. We just need some stuff until she is feeling good enough to come back to Brooklyn."

"Where is she?" Spot asked again. "I want to know where she is staying. It better not be with some guy."

"She's not your girlfriend." Derek told him. "She can stay with a guy if she wants to." With that, he turned around and went into the lodging house. Davey gave Spot an apologetic look and followed Derek.

Spot was not going to let them go into his lodging house and take Pyro's stuff out of it. He was right on their heels. "I want to see her."

Davey spotted Pyro's bed and led Derek over to it. Grabbing the duffel bag that hung on her bed post, the pair started putting stuff into it. "She doesn't want to see you." Derek said bluntly. Lifting up the pillow, he saw a black, leather bound book. Pyro's journal. He picked it up and put it into the bag.

"She has to come back to Brooklyn." Spot growled. "I don't care what she wants. I'm the leader around here. It's about damn time she started doing what I tell her. She needs to stop being a little bitch." Anger boiled inside of him.

Something happened to Derek when he heard Spot call Pyro a bitch. He wasn't sure what it was but he just snapped. Balling up his fist, he slugged Spot Conlon in the face, knocking him out. Davey stared at him. "What did you do that for? Now, we need to run before someone comes in here and finds us." He grabbed Derek by the arm and the two boys ran out of the lodging house and out of Brooklyn. They were not safe there. Derek had just knocked out Brooklyn's fearless leader. Deep down inside, he felt good though. Now, he was trying to figure out why he got so angry when Spot said that about Pyro.


	11. Defending Her Dignity

There was probably only one possible pairing that was more awkward than David Jacobs and Derek Venturi. That was the pairing of Pyro O'Shea and Casey McDonald. Sitting in silence, Pyro stared at the bruises on her wrists. She never really got along well with other girls. Since she had to stay in this apartment with this girl, she didn't want to say anything that would cause tension. Pyro had the tendency to cause tension with almost everyone she met. It wasn't that she was cold and inconsiderate. She just tended to say and do whatever was on her mind, even if it was not appropriate. Plus, small talk was not one of her favorite things.

Finally, Casey spoke up. "What happened anyway?" She asked.

"I saw a guy picking on your brother and sister and one of the other girls so I decided to stop him." Pyro explained. "Except, his brother was with me and then they started pounding on me. Then, I blacked out and when I opened my eyes, Derek was standing there. I think he saved me." She had a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Wait a minute." The brown haired girl looked at the red head next to her. "Derek did something to help someone else? That does not sound like him at all."

"What do you mean?" Then, the picture of Derek and Sweets holding hands made itself into Pyro's brain. "Is Derek a bit of a ladies man?"

"He's more than just a bit of a ladies man." Casey replied. "He is a disgusting, revolting, evil pig. Don't fall for his charm."

"Too late." Pyro muttered under her breath. Then, she went back to staring at the wall.

The front door opened and Davey and Derek came into the apartment with Pyro's stuff. "Pyro, you may have a bit of a situation to deal with when you go back to Brooklyn." Davey explained as the two boys went into the other room.

"Was Conlon there?" Pyro immediately looked at the pair. "What did you say to him?" She looked at Derek.

"I punched him." Derek shrugged as he handed the duffel bag to her.

"You punched a guy?" Casey stared at Derek.

"You punched Conlon?" Pyro smiled. "You are very stupid. Why did you punch him?"

"He called you a bitch." He sat down between his step-sister and Pyro.

Pyro glanced at Derek. Their shoulders were touching. Even though, she had seen him holding hands with Sweets earlier, she was still smitten with this boy. Someone was defending her honor and she was not used to that. It was a rare occasion but Pyro really could not think of anything to say except one word. "Thanks."

Casey looked at Davey and stood up. "I'm going over to Davey's to meet his sister. He said we have a lot in common and I want to meet his family."

"It was nice to meet you, Derek." Davey nodded to the boy on the couch.

"You too." Derek shrugged.

"Bye, Pyro." Casey said. "Hope you're feeling better when I get back."

"Thanks." Pyro waved to the pair as they left. "I want to know something about you." She looked at Derek, their shoulders still touching. "Why were you holding hands with Sweets this morning? She and Race didn't break up, did they?"

Derek shook his head. "No, it's not what you think. She asked me to walk her to her selling spot because her boyfriend was at the racetracks and she didn't want to deal with being picked on by the same guys that did that to you." He explained.

Pyro nodded. That sounded like a reasonable explanation. Plus, who was she to question the word of the guy who saved her and just punched the most feared newsie in all of New York just to defend her dignity. "So, you punched Conlon and you're still alive to tell the tale? How did that happen?"

"Well, to be honest, I knocked him out cold." He replied. "And, then Davey thought it would be a good idea to run in case someone walked in and saw what happened."

Her eyes brightened and a smile spread across her cut and bruised face. "You knocked Conlon out cold! If I wasn't in pain I would jump up and down and celebrate. I knew there was a reason why I like you so much." Pyro didn't mean to say the last part. It just slipped out in all of her excitement.

"You like me?" Derek smirked.

"Don't let it go to your head." She sighed. "The last thing I need is another egotistical, girl obsessed maniac in my life."

Suddenly, Edwin and Blush ran into the apartment. Both were out of breath. Slowly, Pyro stood up and went into the kitchen to see them. Derek was behind her in case she passed out and he could catch her. "Pyro…" Blush said, catching her breath. "We ran into Spot and he followed us here. He's outside and he's pretty furious. He wants to see you."

"And, he wants to see you." Edwin told Derek. "How did he get that black eye?"

Even in this terrible situation, Pyro had to let out a laugh. Spot Conlon had a black eye. She didn't want to see him but yet at the same time, she did because of the black eye. "I'll go down and talk to him. Derek, you stay here. I don't want you to get yourself into anymore trouble over me." She reached for the doorknob.

"Are you sure?" Derek asked. "He might try to hit you again like he did yesterday." He still couldn't figure out why he was worrying so much over this one girl.

"I've got my slingshot and matches." She assured him. "And, I don't even think Spot Conlon would hit someone in my condition."

With a wave, Pyro O'Shea left the tiny apartment to face what was once her biggest weakness. Sure, she knew Spot was mad and he would probably chew her out but she did not care anymore. It was time for her to let Spot Conlon know how she once felt about him and how much his actions had hurt her. Putting her hand on the doorknob to step outside, she took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She opened the door and there he stood with his black eye.


	12. Just a Good Bye Kiss

Spot Conlon looked up at the person he considered to be his closest friend. Any anger he was feeling seemed to just fade away when he saw how badly beaten she looked. New anger resurfaced when he thought about who did this to her. Taking a step towards her, he examined the cuts on her face, "Pyro." He whispered as he pulled her into a hug.

Pyro winced in pain as she felt his hands on her back. Pushing him away, she made a face at him. "Nice shiner, Conlon."

Spot remembered why he had just been so mad when she said that. The anger returned. "You can't stay with him. You're coming back to Brooklyn now."

"I barely made it out here without passing out." She retorted. "And, I like these people. They're all nice. And, Derek treats me like a girl."

"I'll carry you to Brooklyn if I have to." He glared at her. "I can treat you like a girl too. Remember last night?"

Placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head to the side, Pyro said, "Oh, you mean when you kissed me to make me believe you really cared about me? You don't like me like that. I heard you talking to Blade this morning."

"It was just guy talk." He told her. "I really care about you. You're the closest friend I have and we can make things work out between us."

"Yeah, we can be friends but nothing more." She exhaled. "You are so oblivious. I waited years for you to finally notice me and kiss me. And, when you did it, it was just so you could get a fucking point across. You did not kiss me because you have feelings for me. When I heard you talking to Blade, I felt my heart drop down to my feet. You hurt me, Conlon." She turned around to go back inside.

"Pyro, wait." He grabbed her by the wrist, not realizing it was bruised.

"That hurts!" She yanked her wrist away and turned around. She shoved her wrists in his face so that he could see what Oscar had done. "My back hurts too." Turning around, she lifted up the back of her shirt to show him how bad her back was. "I can't go with you to Brooklyn. But, I'll come back. I just don't have it in me to go all the way to Brooklyn and then have to deal with the questions. You know I hate questions."

"I am going to kill those Delanceys." Spot placed his hands on her shoulders. "I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry." He looked into her eyes.

Pyro knew he was telling the truth. "I know but I'm not going back to Brooklyn right now."

"You can't stay here with that guy!" He stared at her. "He punched me!"

She couldn't help but laugh. "That's part of the reason why I like him. Plus, you called me a bitch. He was just sticking up for me."

"I don't care if you stay in Manhattan." He let his hands fall to his side. "But, you can stay in the lodging house with Jacky boy and the rest of them."

"I'm staying here." She shrugged. "My mind is made up. I think we could use some time apart. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine here."

"I don't like this idea." Spot shook his head.

"I promise to come back to Brooklyn as soon as I feel better." She took his hands. "You just need to trust me on this one. We could do without the stress of one another for a few days."

Spot sighed. He knew there was no way he was going to win this. When Pyro made up her mind, there was no changing it. Spot never caved in for anyone but her. "Fine, but be careful."

Pyro smiled. "I'm always careful. Just look at me."

"I am looking at you." Spot responded. "That's why I'm telling you to be careful." He took a deep breath and looked at her. "I'm going to do something. Don't get mad at me. I'm just going to miss you. I want you to know that even if I don't have feelings for you the way you want me to, I still liked kissing you last night." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

After pulling away, Pyro laughed. "It's only going to be a few days, Conlon."

"I just wanted to kiss you without trying to convince you of something." He shrugged. "But, it doesn't change anything between us. It's just a… good-bye kiss."

"Ok, a good-bye kiss." She smiled and waved. "So, good-bye. I'll see you in a few days."

"See you around." Spot waved back at her as she turned around and went back inside. He turned and walked away. He was going to worry about her the next few days but he could just have some of the Manhattan guys check up on her.

Derek was standing on the fire escape outside his bedroom window when Spot had kissed Pyro. He had seen it happen. Normally, something like this wouldn't bother him because he could just move on to the next girl. But, Pyro was different. He was feeling sick inside. That's when he realized something. He was starting to fall for the feisty, red head. This was a new feeling for Derek. Usually he thought of many girls. Now, he could only think of one girl. Her name was Pyro O'Shea and she had just kissed another guy.


	13. Epiphany

As she ascended the stairs of the apartment building, Pyro had an epiphany. She had finally been kissed by Spot Conlon but she realized that there was no chemistry there. They could only be friends at best. It was time for her to get over Spot and move on. After all, there was someone else who she could feel would be there for her when she needed him. It's not very often that a girl gets saved by a guy and then he punches another guy to defend her dignity.

Stepping into the Venturi/McDonald apartment, Pyro had noticed that Edwin and Blush were sitting on the sofa thumb wrestling. A slight smile spread across her face. She could tell that they liked each other a lot.

Nora had just come back from retrieving Marti and Lizzie from the candy store. The two girls sat at the kitchen table, sorting through their candy. Nora started to prepare dinner.

Noticing that Derek was not in the apartment, Pyro went to her duffel bag and dug out her journal and grabbed a pencil off the small coffee table. From being on the fire escape outside, she figured out how to get to it from the inside. Going into a bedroom that she figured had to be Derek's just by how messy it was, Pyro made her way out to the fire escape.

To Pyro's surprise, Derek was standing on the fire escape, looking down at the street. Standing in the spot next to him, she poked him in the side. "I'm staying and I got rid of Conlon." Derek just nodded. He was unusually quiet. Even though Pyro had just met him the day before, she knew that he was not the quiet type. "You ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He replied with a shrug. "I just don't feel like talking right now. I have a lot on my mind."

"Well, we don't have to talk." She told him. He raised an eyebrow at her. Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I mean we can just sit here and take in the sounds of the city." Taking his hand, she sat down with him, their backs against the wall of the apartment building. Pyro let go of Derek's hand and opened her journal. "I like to write in my journal while I listen to the city. Especially days like today. It's been eventful to say the least."

Derek and Pyro sat together on the fire escape for about an hour. Neither one had said much. Pyro just wrote in her journal, making sure to shield it from his eyes. After all, there was some stuff in there about him. Derek couldn't help but watch everything she did. He noticed how she would tuck her fiery hair behind her ear whenever it would fall out of place. The way she would tap the pencil against the journal whenever she was thinking about what to write next caught his eye. He even enjoyed the way she would crack her knuckles when her hand started to cramp from writing so fast. Now, if only she and Spot hadn't kissed.

Right before the sun started to set, Nora called everyone for dinner. It did not take her long to convince her husband to let Pyro stay with them. One look at the badly beaten newsgirl and George Venturi knew that he could not let her go back on the streets like that. Everyone gathered around the dinner table that night. It was the first time Pyro had eaten with a family in a long time. She enjoyed listening to everyone's stories of their daily events. She even liked watching Casey and Derek fight over just about everything. Pyro was going to like staying here and she knew it.


	14. Sneaking Out

What was supposed to be only a few days, turned into two weeks. Pyro liked staying with the McDonald/Venturi family so much that she started to milk her condition a bit longer. She had grown much attached to Marti. They spent their days together while Nora did her errands and George was out looking for work. Pyro noticed that Davey was spending a lot of time with Casey and Blush was spending a lot of time with Edwin and Lizzie. There were even rumors floating around that Spot had taken a liking to Pallet, one of the Manhattan girls and he was even considering a steady relationship with her.

Pyro's biggest problem during this time was trying to get up the nerve to tell Derek how much she liked him. As if on cue, he would come home every day at lunch time to eat with his little sister and his new friend. When they had first met, Derek seemed to be attracted to Pyro. Now, he only treated her as if she was just a friend. This puzzled her. They spent most of their time together but she could tell how distant he was.

It was late on a Friday night. Everyone in the McDonald/Venturi apartment was in bed. At least, everyone was supposed to be in bed. Pyro was sitting on the sofa wide awake. She knew there was a get together of all the Manhattan and Brooklyn newsies at the Brooklyn docks. It was the third Friday of the month and they always had their gatherings on the third Friday of the month.

Pyro was going to Brooklyn. There was no stopping her. She even dressed up for the occasion by wearing a black skirt and a somewhat nice emerald green shirt. Casey had braided her hair earlier in the day. The only problem was that she did not want to walk to Brooklyn alone. Also, she wanted Derek to take her as a date or even as a friend. It didn't really matter. All she wanted was for him to go with her.

When she was sure that everyone was sleeping, Pyro slowly stood up and crept over to Derek's bedroom door. Trying to minimize the squeak of the door, she opened it inch by inch until she was standing next to his bed. Derek looked almost angelic when he was sleeping. Pyro knew better. Derek was just as mischievous as her, possibly even more so that she was. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she started to shake him.

As Derek had opened his eyes, he thought he had died and gone to Heaven. Standing next to his bed was a red haired angel. She looked stunning. "Am I in Heaven?" He asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

Putting a hand over his mouth, Pyro shook her head. "Keep quiet. We're sneaking out." She whispered.

Derek's eyes widened as he sat up. He gently took her wrist and moved her hand so that he could speak. "Where are we going?" He whispered.

"Just get dressed and I'll tell you on the way." She moved with the stealth of a fox in a henhouse towards his window and climbed out.

Jumping out of bed, he grabbed his clothes and got dressed. Then, he put on his shoes and climbed out the window. Pyro was already down on the street waiting for him. He climbed down the fire escape and there she stood in front of him.

The moonlight hit Pyro's features in the most flattering way. Derek had noticed that the petite red head was not so petite in a certain area. Now, he was staring at her chest because he had not noticed it before under her boyish clothes. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going?" He asked, still trying not to look at her chest.

"Brooklyn." Pyro said as she turned around and headed for Brooklyn.

"What?" Derek followed her lead. "Why are we going to Brooklyn? I'm not very well liked there and I honestly don't feel safe there."

"There's a little get together with a bunch of my friends and I want to see them." She walked briskly. "And, as long as I'm with you, no one will hurt you."

Falling in step with her, Derek shook his head. "You do know that you're crazy, right?"

"Yeah, I've been told that from time to time." She took his hand as they came to the Brooklyn Bridge. "Plus, Brooklyn is my home. I need to keep up an appearance so they know that I'm not dead. I gotta keep the fear alive in the guys. Because let me tell you something, Conlon is nothing without a little fire behind him. And, that fire is me."

At the mention of that name, Derek cringed but he did not let go of her hand. "So, do you always dress up when you want to keep the fear alive in the guys?"

She blushed and shook her head. "Nope. I only dress up when I have an event to go to."

"So, you're not trying to impress anyone?" He asked, thinking she was trying to impress Spot.

"Maybe I am." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm not." The only person she was trying to impress was Derek.

The rest of the walk to Brooklyn went on like that. Derek would try to pry information out of her to see if she was just going to see Spot. Pyro would give him cryptic answers because she was too shy to just come out and tell him that she liked him.

Once they had finally reached the docks, they both let out a sigh. Pyro's was a sigh of relief to be back on her home turf. Derek's was a sigh of nerves because he knew that Spot Conlon did not like him.

There were groups of people scattered around the docks. People were playing cards, shooting marbles, talking, swimming and just being social. Scanning the crowd with her eyes, Pyro noticed that Spot was not sitting atop his crates like he usually did. With a shrug, she held out her arms and said, "Brooklyn, oh how I missed you!"

A tap on the shoulder and both Pyro and Derek turned around and saw Spot Conlon staring at them. "Pyro, what are you doing here with him?"


	15. I Want to Be With You

"Nice to see you too, Conlon." Pyro replied in a sarcastic tone. Taking a step closer to him, she could already smell the beer on his breath. "Been hitting the booze a little early, haven't you?"

"I got into an argument with Pallet." Spot retorted. "Not that it is any of your business."

Whenever Spot had gotten into an argument with one of his girlfriends before, Pyro was always the one he would talk to about it. Looking at Derek, Pyro sighed. She knew she had to talk to Spot before he got completely drunk and did something stupid. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Echo and Skittery chatting with Moonlight and Bumlets. "Derek, do you know Echo, Skittery, Moonlight and Bumlets?" As the boy nodded, she replied. "Could you maybe go talk to them while I take care of a problem?"

"Will you be ok?" Derek eyed Spot tugging at Pyro's hand.

"Matches and slingshot." She replied with a nod.

"If he tries to do anything…" Derek trailed off as Pyro pushed him towards the two couples.

Grabbing Spot by the arm, Pyro started walking towards the street. "So, how did you piss off the girlfriend?"

"Well, first thing's first, she ain't my girlfriend yet." Spot looked at her. At that moment, he started to feel the rush of the alcohol in his system. Watching every move she made as they walked, he noticed she looked different. "Why are you so dressed up?"

"That doesn't matter right now." She shrugged. "What matters is getting you and Pallet to make up. Do you even know what you did to make her mad?"

As he shook his head, he kept watching her. "Are you dressed up because you knew you were going to see me tonight?"

Pyro stopped in her tracks. "Conlon, my world does not revolve around you."

"You're looking good all dressed up." He grinned and winked at her.

"I'm sure that's just the booze talking." She eyed him warily.

Licking his lips, Spot pulled her into his arms. "I would love to take you back to the lodging house right now and see just what you've been hiding under all those guy clothes all these years. Because this just ain't satisfying me. I wanna see more of you."

Spot had just said the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong girl. Whenever he had talked to girls like that, they would make one of two choices: they would go with him or they would slap him and walk off. Pyro was by far, like no other girl. Balling up her fist, she punched him in the face and stormed off.

As she approached, Derek, Echo, Skittery, Moonlight and Bumlets, Pyro was beginning to realize what she had done. She had just punched Spot Conlon. It felt good. And, if he remembered that in the morning, she doubted she would be allowed back into Brooklyn without kissing his butt for the rest of her life. Grabbing Derek by the hand, she said, "We need to get out of here, now!"

"We just got here." He looked at her.

"Yeah, but I just punched Conlon."

"What did he do to you?" Derek's eyes fixated on her. "I'll go punch him again."

"That'd just make things worse and there'd probably an all out war." Pyro looked behind her and saw Spot coming towards them. "Great, now he's coming this way. I swear, I'm going to punch him again if he comes any closer to me. I can't believe that jackass just thought he could seduce me. I'm not stupid. I don't even like him like that anymore. I'm over him. I don't want to be with him. I want to be with you." It was a habit of hers to start rambling when her emotions got going and she often said things she was keeping a secret.

Derek smirked and raised an eyebrow. Without saying a word, he pulled Pyro into his arms and planted the most passionate, deep kiss, on her lips. Spot stopped in his tracks and just stared at the guy hated kissing the girl he thought belonged to him in some twisted way.


End file.
